For those of you that went to music school…

[tracey-kjonegaard]

Hi, this might be an interesting fun/storytelling thread.

I’m just curious, for those of you that went to school for music or to pursue a degree in music and/or harp etc…would you mind sharing your experience? I’m curious as to what you went into it hoping to come out with, what it was actually like and how you applied what you went to school for, to what you’re doing now or what you have done after school?

[eliza-morrison]

That’s a lot of questions! I already had a bachelor’s degree (not in music) when I went back to school for a diploma in harp performance at the New England Conservatory of Music. My teacher there was the superb Ann Hobson Pilot. It was an amazing experience, both having Ann as a teacher and mentor, and also for the many orchestral and chamber music opportunities. There were many sacrifices involved in making this happen, but it was the right choice for me and I am grateful I was able to do it. I have been a freelance harpist since graduating in Boston, New York and Philadelphia. Though not connected to any one particular orchestra, my career has been a series of wonderful opportunities. It has also afforded me the flexibility to raise three children. So…no complaints. It’s been a great work and a great life.

[Sherri Matthew]

Hi Tracey,

I recently posted a story about this very topic on my blog at my website, http://www.sherrimatthew.com. The entry is called, “From Classical to New Age” and it’s my most recent one. A bit long (as many of my blog entries tend to be), but it pretty much tells the story of my whole musical educational journey.

[natalie-wagner–2]

Thank you Tracy for starting this thread, I’m about to start going to college to major in harp (performance or music therapy or what I don’t even know yet!) and have many of the same questions. I’m still in the “researching and preparing phase”, I have no experience to speak of yet! Sorry I couldn’t help, but it is really exciting to think about. God bless you!

— Natalie

[jennifer-buehler]

My degree is in music therapy. I started as a violin player in elementary and came to college with only a public school music background. I started as a music ed major and switched to clarinet. I didn’t really feel like I was getting enough instruction in how to teach and failed miserably at my first attempt at conducting class. After talking with my adviser, I switched to music therapy and transferred to a school where it was offered. I took up harp during my internship (which is a story in and of itself). I moved back to Nebraska where MT jobs are a little thin on the ground. After starting my family, it was too hard for me personally to keep up with continuing ed requirements and I recently dropped my certification. However, I don’t regret having that education for a number of reasons. One is that it led me to harp. The other is that all of my children are on the autism spectrum and much of what I learned has helped me make their lives better to cope.

[erin-wood]

I did my bachelor’s and master’s in performance and I loved it. It is probably the only time that you will be among a great community of other harpists and can share pedalings, and fingerings, and listen to other people play and learn and grow so much. I perform a lot with choirs, orchestras, weddings, etc, as well as teach privately and at a university. I love that my job gives me the flexibility to be home with my kids a lot. However all this isn’t really enough to support a family. I am grateful that my husband has a good job with benefits. It was interesting to read the harpcolumn profile this month about Allegra and how one of the best things to her about winning the St. Louis job is having financial security and not having to worry about do I have enough money to go to the doctor. My students at University of Kansas are either education majors or music therapy. I think it is smart to have something a little more practical in their degree and I think they are getting the same benefits musically as a performance major would. I am glad that Jennifer talked about her music therapy degree. I know that KU has a great music therapy program and only one of my students has done therapy so far. I am very interested in seeing what people end up doing with that degree and if it is necessary to have post graduate training in it as well.

[graeme-smith]

Its great if you want to focus on classical music and improving your technique but there is not much room for creativity, you’re kinda boxed into conventional harp roles and if you want to play jazz or anything more experimental, it has to be outside of school. Just my experience.

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